Pre-HAART LTS—First generation survivors are individuals who acquired HIV before the advent of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART), when having HIV was considered a death sentence. Those living longest with HIV have vastly different physical and psychosocial implications from those who acquired HIV later in the epidemic.

Longest term survivors also include adults who were born with HIV, or who acquired it as children, who now in their thirties.

Post-HAART LTS—Those who tested HIV-positive after more effective medications turned HIV from a death sentence into a chronic manage illness and are living with HIV for over ten years.

HIV-Negative LTS—There are survivors of a different stripe often left out of the discourse. They are the survivors who remain free of the virus. They were lovers, caretakers and frontline healthcare workers. They were lesbians who stepped in to take care of people with HIV and AIDS. They too suffered enormous losses and sustained trauma. They also exhibit fierce resilience that needs to be celebrated and acknowledged.